Alright, so dinner tonight involved that ground deer sausage my neighbor gave me. He got a deer last fall, had it processed, and shared some. Good guy. It’s been sitting in the freezer, staring at me, practically begging to be used.
So, I finally pulled it out yesterday to thaw in the fridge. Today after work, I stared at that package of ground venison sausage. What to do, what to do? Didn’t want anything too complicated. Weeknight, you know? Just wanted something hearty and quick.
Getting Started
First thing, I grabbed my trusty cast iron skillet. Love that thing. Gets super hot, great sear. I unwrapped the sausage. It looked pretty lean, which is typical for deer meat, but this processor must’ve added some pork fat because it wasn’t bone dry looking. Good sign.
I cranked the stove to medium-high, let the skillet heat up for a few minutes. Tossed the ground sausage right in. No oil needed, figured there was enough fat in there, and I was right. It started sizzling immediately. That smell… different from regular pork or beef sausage. Earthier, you know?
Got my wooden spoon and started breaking it up. Just kept chopping and stirring it around the pan, making sure it browned evenly. Took maybe 7-8 minutes? Didn’t want to rush it. Wanted those nice crispy brown bits.
Adding the Veggies and Stuff
While the sausage was browning, I looked around. What else did I have? Found half an onion and a green bell pepper in the veggie drawer. Perfect.
- Chopped the onion. Not too fine, rough chop is fine for this.
- Did the same with the green pepper. Seeds out, quick slice and dice.
Once the sausage looked good and browned, I pushed it over to one side of the skillet. Tossed the onions and peppers into the empty spot. Let them cook in the rendered fat for a few minutes, stirring them occasionally until they started to soften up. Then I mixed everything together – sausage, onions, peppers, all mingling in the pan.
Now for flavor. I kept it simple:
- A big spoonful of minced garlic from the jar. Yeah, I cheat sometimes.
- Salt and pepper. Generous amount.
- A good shake of dried oregano and maybe some red pepper flakes for a little kick.
Stirred all that in, let it cook for another minute until the garlic smelled amazing.
Finishing It Up
Okay, decision time. Could’ve made a sauce, but I felt lazy. Saw a can of diced tomatoes (the fire-roasted kind) in the pantry. Dumped that in, juice and all. Gave it a good stir, scraped up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble away and simmered for maybe 10 minutes, just to let the flavors meld. Reduced the heat to low.
It’s funny, cooking with game meat. Makes you think a bit more about where food comes from, you know? Not just grabbing a plastic-wrapped tray from the supermarket. This deer was walking around not too long ago. Kind of grounds you a bit, pun intended I guess.
Anyway, I tasted it. Pretty darn good. Served it over some leftover rice I had. Quick, easy, used up that sausage, and tasted like real food. Didn’t bother with anything fancy. Just scooped it into a bowl. Job done. Solid weeknight dinner.
